{"product_id":"musuis-story-katsu-kokichi-9780816512560","title":"Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai","description":"\u003cb\u003eA series of picaresque adventures\u003c\/b\u003e set against the backdrop of a Japan still closed off from the rest of the world, \u003ci\u003eMusui's Story\u003c\/i\u003e recounts the escapades of samurai Katsu Kokichi. As it depicts Katsu stealing, brawling, indulging in the pleasure quarters, and getting the better of authorities, it also provides a refreshing perspective on Japanese society, customs, economy, and human relationships. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From childhood, Katsu was given to mischief. He ran away from home, once at thirteen, making his way as a beggar on the great trunk road between Edo and Kyoto, and again at twenty, posing as the emissary of a feudal lord. He eventually married and had children but never obtained official preferment and was forced to supplement a meager stipend by dealing in swords, selling protection to shopkeepers, and generally using his muscle and wits. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Katsu's descriptions of loyalty and kindness, greed and deception, vanity and superstition offer an intimate view of daily life in nineteenth-century Japan unavailable in standard history books. \u003ci\u003eMusui's Story\u003c\/i\u003e will delight not only students of Japan's past but also general readers who will be entranced by Katsu's candor and boundless zest for life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Katsu Kokichi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0816512566\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780816512560\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Arizona Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/1991\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.58h x 5.56w x 0.60d","brand":"Katsu Kokichi","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44050197774591,"sku":"9780816512560","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_02416527-c335-4aee-974f-30bd735cb745.jpg?v=1685005807","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/musuis-story-katsu-kokichi-9780816512560","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}